Chapter 520: Supreme of the Heavenly Palace
"Emperor Chu is personally sending us off?"
"That's just his divine manifestation, not his true body."
"So fast… The stars and galaxies look like flowing light. Could Emperor Chu already be an Immortal Emperor?"
Inside the immortal city, the ships of various sects docked within its bounds. From aboard, the disciples and elders could see the shifting light of stars and moons outside the city.
Countless streaks of light swept by—not because the stars were moving, but because they themselves were flying so fast it felt like space was twisting around them. The vast territory of the Southern Region flew past their view in blurred shadows, the shape of the Yanchu Immortal Dynasty's landscape faintly visible in the distance.
"The Southern Region War, seven dynasties competing. This time it's about gaining access to the Primordial True Realm. Every dynasty is going all in—don't be surprised if some stoop to underhanded tactics."
Inside the ship's palace, the Grand Dream Master looked up and spoke softly to Li Hao.
Li Hao nodded. He'd faced ambushes back in the Domain of All Heavens. Though he'd moved from the False Realm of Cataclysm to the True Realm, people hadn't changed. Human nature remained the same throughout time.
Li Hao pulled his gaze from the starry skies that shimmered like reflections and began carefully studying the porcelain painting before him.
Seeing his calm focus, the Grand Dream Master smiled faintly and quietly stayed by his side.
Time passed quickly.
With Emperor Chu's divine manifestation carrying the immortal city—coiled by the Chaos Ancestral Dragon—they chased stars and moons. Within a few days, they arrived at the heart of the Southern Region.
As they drew closer, the immortal energy in the surrounding space grew visibly denser than that of the Yanchu Immortal Dynasty's capital, rivaling even the royal domain.
Suspended in the vast sky was a glowing, radiant continent, dazzlingly brilliant, floating amidst the starry void.
The continent stretched endlessly for billions of miles, wrapped in a barrier of immortal power, radiating silver brilliance.
"We're almost there. That's the Heavenly Palace," said the Grand Dream Master, her voice calm as she looked ahead and addressed Li Hao.
Li Hao had been discussing how to paint the branches of the Origin Tree of Time with her, but he now looked up. Before him was the core of the Southern Region—the Heavenly Palace, overseen by an Immortal Emperor.
Orbiting the massive continent in the sky were strands of silver light, specks of dust compared to the immensity of the land.
But those specks were now flying toward them.
As they neared, Li Hao realized they were the celestial guards patrolling the Heavenly Palace's outer perimeter.
All of these guards were at the Immortal Lord stage, clad in uniform armor, faces stern and cold. Even when they recognized Emperor Chu, their expressions didn't soften. They flew forward in strict formation.
Emperor Chu raised his hand and wrote the character "Yan" in golden light in the void.
Upon seeing this, the celestial guards saluted, then opened the path ahead.
With one hand holding the immortal city and the other behind his back, Emperor Chu flew forward.
At the edge of the vast continent, there was a dense immortal barrier. The silver-helmed guards touched their halberds together, linking celestial runes between them. A beam of silver radiance flared from the halberds, tearing open a passage through the barrier, allowing Emperor Chu to pass.
Witnessing this, the disciples and elders from all sects within the city were deeply shaken.
Even someone as powerful as Emperor Chu—a ruler of an ancient dynasty—still had to follow the rules here at the Heavenly Palace.
As they passed through the barrier, rich immortal energy surged into the city, flooding every ship's domain artifact.
Even within the main hall, Li Hao felt the difference. The immortal energy here was four to five times more concentrated than before. Cultivating here would be four to five times more effective. With enough talent, one could reach the Enlightenment stage by their thirties.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a figure appeared ahead without warning. He wore black robes marked with a dark crimson phoenix tail symbol.
"Feng Leixiang of the Fengyu Clan, greetings to Emperor Chu."
The black-robed middle-aged man gave a slight bow. His tone was neither humble nor arrogant, and his aura was tightly restrained. Though not on par with Emperor Chu, he was clearly at the Immortal King level.
Emperor Chu's expression remained calm—he was used to the Heavenly Palace's people behaving like this. "All the sons of Yan Chu have arrived."
"My master is already waiting in the Heavenly Palace Hall. Please, follow me."
Feng Leixiang smiled and glanced at the immortal city in Chu's hand, but his face showed no change.
Emperor Chu gave a slight nod and followed him forward through the air.
"The Fengyu Clan," said the Grand Dream Master, "is one of the top hundred races. A clan of celestial beasts, skilled in fire and lightning."
The Grand Dream Master glanced at Feng Leixiang and softly explained to Li Hao.
Li Hao nodded. The Hundred Clans of the True Realm were all powerful races. Many had formed alliances with one another. For example, Yin Jingcheng was from the Xuan Yin Clan, one of the Hundred Clans and part of the Six Yuan Clans.
The so-called Six Yuan Clans were all members of the Hundred Clans, but through alliances with the Xuan Yin Clan, they formed a larger collective. Even the top clans had to forge such pacts to ensure long-term survival. Generations of intermarriage and shared lineage had deeply entwined them, making their relationships extremely complex.
"Each time we come here, we must first pay respects to the Immortal Emperor," the Grand Dream Master said. "It's a rare opportunity. The Immortal Emperor is a true emperor. Even someone like Emperor Chu, or the emperors of the other ancient immortal dynasties, are considered false emperors before the Immortal Emperor. Their titles are mere names, like mortal kings, only valid within their own dynasties. Once they step outside, they are nothing."
"But the Immortal Emperor is recognized by all realms. When the Immortal Emperor travels, the Dao of the Emperor shines upon the True Realm. If he wills it, his imperial presence can be seen anywhere across the realm. It's terrifying."
Hearing this, Li Hao's eyes flickered. It was hard to imagine what kind of awe-inspiring sight that would be.
But without doubt, in everyone's hearts, an Immortal Emperor was an untouchable force.
"To witness the strongest existence in the world, to see what the pinnacle of cultivation truly looks like—that in itself is a rare chance. But don't try to look directly," the Grand Dream Master added with a faint smile.
Li Hao nodded. His own master, Tianyang Immortal Emperor, had also reached that realm, but had since fallen. Now, he had a chance to see a living one with his own eyes.
Soon, Emperor Chu carried the immortal city and followed the disciple of the Supreme One to the Heavenly Palace Hall.
The palace hovered high above the center of the continent, like a blazing sun across the sky, radiating brilliant heat and light across the entire land.
There was no teleportation along the way, just flight, yet the speed was incredible—the surrounding landscape streaked past like wind-blown shadows.
In an instant, Emperor Chu arrived in front of the Heavenly Palace Hall.
The majestic palace floated in the air, with a staircase stretching nearly ten thousand miles from its base. The steps were pure white like jade, and both sides were lined with countless silver-armored celestial guards, like a swarm of bees patrolling the area.
Emperor Chu's divine form, originally massive and imposing, shrank steadily as they neared the palace—from ten thousand feet tall to a thousand, then finally to just a few dozen feet. Even the immortal city in his hand shrank with it.
Feng Leixiang, in black robes, stopped at the foot of the staircase and turned to Emperor Chu, gesturing forward. "Please."
Emperor Chu understood—he'd been here before. His expression was calm, though his brows creased ever so slightly. He released the immortal city, which soared upward and expanded again above his head. The Chaos Ancestral Dragon coiled around it let out a deep roar and carried the royal clan up to land in front of the steps.
Feng Leixiang glanced at the dragon when it roared, responding with a calm and composed look.
It was a silent warning—don't disturb those within the Heavenly Palace.
Sensing the subtle authority behind that look, the Chaos Ancestral Dragon let out a dissatisfied snort but obediently shifted, allowing Chu Tianhuang and the other royals to disembark.
"Off you go, little ones. I'm not carrying you any farther," the dragon said via voice transmission to the royals.
Chu Tianhuang and the others knew their place and dismounted without a word—they dared not ride into the Heavenly Palace on the dragon's back.
At the same time, the domain artifacts from within the immortal city took flight, growing larger in the air as one figure after another emerged from them.
"Let's go," said the Grand Dream Master, leading Li Hao off their ship. From this point on, all had to walk on foot to pay respects to the Supreme One. Flying or using celestial artifacts would be a grave offense.
Unless given special permission by the Heavenly Palace, only a handful—like the Supreme One's personal disciples—could move freely by flight.
In the blink of an eye, the disciples from all the sects' domain artifacts landed in front of the jade-white staircase, gathering together.
Li Hao swept his eyes over the crowd and noticed several unfamiliar, powerful auras. He realized these must be the specially recommended disciples from various sects and the royal clan, just as the Grand Dream Master had said.
Yin Jingcheng and Meng Huaiyue were examples—they had secured special admission slots from Da Meng Jiu Yuan, placing them outside the standard quota of one thousand.
As Li Hao looked around, several gazes quickly turned toward him. He glanced over and saw Lin Qingying. Smiling at her, he gave her a look of encouragement.
Seeing his smile, the weariness and tension Lin Qingying had been carrying melted away, and she returned a bright smile.
Their exchange caught the attention of two others. One was from the royal clan—Chu Yueli. Following Li Hao's gaze and seeing him exchanging looks with another girl, her expression turned sour. 'His cultivation level might not be high, but his skill at flirting is unmatched. He hasn't even married me yet, and I already feel like I'm being cheated on.'
The other gaze came from Wan Shan Jian Lou. Not far from Lin Qingying stood Tian Hongyi, in white robes with a sword emblem on his chest. When he saw the smile on the green-clad girl's face and followed her gaze to Li Hao, his brows furrowed, and his expression turned cold.
"So this is the Heavenly Palace?"
"That Supreme One lives in there? The destination of all cultivation across the countless ages, the Immortal Emperor!"
Disciples from all sects stared up at the towering palace. From their perspective, they could only see the endless stairs and a corner of the palace far above.
Thinking about how they were about to see an Immortal Emperor in person, the eyes of many geniuses lit up with anticipation.
No matter how exceptional a genius was, the end goal of cultivation was to reach the Immortal Emperor realm.
Every Immortal Emperor had carved out their own emperor's path through history, leaving legacies that endured for generations.
"Emperor Chu, this way please," Feng Leixiang finally said with a smile once all the sect disciples had descended from the immortal city, motioning for him to proceed.
Even at just several dozen feet tall, Emperor Chu's divine form remained majestic. With a calm, commanding gaze, he stepped forward to climb the stairs behind Feng Leixiang.
Each sect's disciples followed behind their sect leaders or elders, ascending the steps in turn.
Li Hao climbed together with Gu Yan and Yuexi, glancing around as they went. The stairway stretched endlessly—probably at least half an hour's climb. After the initial curiosity, Gu Yan and Yuexi both grew quiet, heads bowed in thought, frowns on their faces.
Murong Qingwu, walking beside Yuexi, nudged her gently with an elbow and whispered, "What are you thinking about, silly girl? Don't tell me you're hoping the Immortal Emperor will clear your clan's name?"
Yuexi jumped in surprise. After looking around to make sure no one overheard, her face changed slightly and she bit her lip. "It would only take a single word from the Immortal Emperor."
"It would," Murong Qingwu nodded, "But those in power rarely speak without reason."
She clearly hoped Yuexi would drop the idea—offending the Supreme One would be disastrous. The Immortal Emperor stood at the peak of existence, able to kill or bless with a single thought. Only a coalition of the ancient demon emperors might match that.
"My clan has nothing to do with chaos. We possess that power, but have never misused it," Yuexi said, biting her lip.
The Chaos Clan had long been reviled in the True Realm. When Li Tiemu brought her back to Jian Yuan, he faced tremendous pressure. At the time, even though her Dao heart and talent rivaled the best, and Wan Shan Jian Lou once fought to recruit her, once they learned her origins, they refused to accept her no matter what.
"People fear rumors. Once you wear a filthy robe, no one cares who put it on you—they'll just call you a beggar," Murong Qingwu said with a soft sigh.
Beside them, Li Tiemu overheard the conversation and immediately tensed. He turned to Yuexi and said, "Young lady, don't even think about doing something foolish. The Immortal Emperor won't care unless you earn a top spot in the Southern Region War and catch the Supreme One's eye. Only then will you be worthy to speak."
Yuexi clenched her fists slightly, unwilling to give in.
Murong Qingwu added, "She's right. There's one other way—go to the Hundred Clans' Imperial Battle Mountain. If you can rise to the top there, you'll have the right to speak for your clan."
Yuexi knew that too. But that path was even harder than the Southern Region War. Bloodier and more ruthless.
"I understand," she whispered. She knew that acting on impulse now might drag Da Meng Jiu Yuan into trouble—or even implicate the entire Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty. If that happened, her clan's infamous reputation would be sealed forever.
Next to her, Gu Yan glanced at her. Seeing that she had backed down, he relaxed his tightly clenched fists and returned to a calm expression.
As the climb continued, the ten-thousand-mile staircase finally came to an end. Before them stood the grand palace of the Supreme One.
It was a towering, magnificent structure that seemed to merge with the heavens. All around it, countless streaks of flowing light shimmered in the air—like the very essence of the Dao from the Heavenly Bridge.